English 0099: Learning Support English

PLP Post-Test

2014-04-30T09:36:00.002-04:00

Soon, you will see a new PLP assignment in Connect. This is your post-test. I would like you to finish this assignment by this coming Monday, May 5. Our scheduled final exam time is 10:20-12:20 on that day, and I would prefer that you start and finish the post-test during that time. If you want to do the test earlier, you are free to do so, but please do it in ONE sitting. On May 5, we won't have a room to go to, but you can use a lab computer or your own computer on campus.

Remember also, you might need to work on your final essay more on May 5, in case it is not passing. So here is what I want everyone to do on May 5:

Come to my office at 10:20 for check-in.
I will let you know if there is a problem with your grade.
Go to a computer lab and do the post-test in Connect.
Come back to my office for check-out.

Planning and Outlining Workshop

2014-02-05T07:50:00.000-05:00

Please make sure the essay type is at the top of your outline.

While I am looking over them, take some time to work on your paragraph assignments. Check your evaluated folder and your revisions for my new comments and purple marks; look over the comments I left and then make a copy of P3.Evaluated so that you can revise it. Put the new file in the writing folder you made for this class. When you revise your paragraphs, make sure that you make numerous and substantial changes by next class period. Please work on your paragraphs in class until I am ready to work on the outlines with you.

Once I have checked your outlines, I will select a few to use as examples for the class so that each of you can think about the quality of your thesis statements and the quality of your two stages.

Paragraph Revision Workshop

2013-01-17T07:45:00.000-05:00

Today, you can "share" your paragraph with another classmate, and he or she will share a paragraph with you. This sharing will happen through your Google Drive, so you will need to follow my directions to set up sharing.

First, click here to see sharing addresses.

You should see your name on the list. You should share your document with one other person on the list. To do so, open your paragraph document and click the blue "share" button in the upper right corner. When the window opens, you will be able to paste a Gmail address into the "Invite People" box. Copy and paste the email address of the classmate sitting across from you into that box. Then, out to the side, click on the box that says "Can edit" and choose "Can comment." Then "save" and "done."

You can see the paragraph shared with you by clicking on the "shared with me" link in the left column. Open the paragraph shared with you and read it from beginning to end. Talk to each other and make sure that the paragraphs were shared successfully.

Today, we are concerned about the parts of a paragraph. So before you look at the specifics, you need to comment on the overall structure your classmate's paragraph. To comment, highlight some text by clicking and dragging and then right-click on the highlighted part and select "Comment"--you can type your suggestion in the box that appears. Follow my lead--I will ask you to comment on whether all the parts of the paragraph are present or missing:

Topic sentence
Supporting details and examples
Closing statement

Next, I want you to look at each part individually. First, the topic sentence of your classmate's paragraph should have three qualities:

Specific: It should be about ONE idea
Focused: It should mention a single task
Logical: It should mention HOW that single task can help ease the burden of your stressful situation

On your classmate's paragraph, comment on which qualities his or her topic sentence HAS from the list above.

Next, scan the supporting details and examples for OFF-TOPIC statements and comment on them, one at a time. If you are not sure whether a particular detail is off-topic, you can raise your hand. In your comments, you should also suggest some details that are missing that might help your classmate improve his or her paragraph.

Last, make sure the closing statement does not repeat the topic sentence. If it does, comment with a warning on your classmate's closing statement.

If there is time at the end, look at your own paragraph again and begin revising it.

Paragraph Evaluation

2013-01-15T07:33:00.000-05:00

For this workshop, I want you to work in pairs or in groups of 3. Gather around one computer and let a good note taker type your group's ideas. That student will go to this document in our English 0099 Course Documents. Once you are in the document, go to "File" and make a copy. Then, as a group, follow the steps in the new copy.

First Day

2012-08-05T10:20:00.000-04:00

Welcome to your English 0099 course! I hope this semester will be both fun and challenging for you! Your professor's name is Dr. Matthew Horton (that's me!), but you can call him Dr. H. I have high hopes that this semester will help you improve the skills you need to handle college-level writing courses!

Click on these icons and see what you can do! This course is about writing, sure, but it is also about using technology to help you discover new possibilities with writing. Writing's not all just about typing papers and turning them in. In fact, this course strives to be as PAPERLESS as possible! This might be a little scary for some of you, but I assure you, the skills you'll learn will be just as important as effective writing!

Also, go ahead and look through some of the most important resources on this course website:

Read the syllabus
Check the agenda
Using Google Drive

Additional resources are available by clicking the tabs across the top and various links in the right-hand margin. As much as you can, familiarize yourself with this course website. My contact info is in the right-hand margin at well, towards the top.

Syllabus

2012-08-05T10:15:00.000-04:00

Your Goals for the Course

identify obstacles and gateways to success in college academics
cultivate motivation to participate in higher education
recognize ethical and financial value of skillful, authentic communication
demonstrate personal responsibility in content, presentation, and quality of work
develop writing process to meet demands of college writing
practice fundamentals of sentence, paragraph, and essay writing
orchestrate parts of an essay to construct a unified discussion
compose, revise, and format standard college essay using Google Drive
communicate feedback on peer writing performance using Google Drive
follow personalized learning plan to practice grammar conventions
navigate UNG website for essential student resources

Texts and Materials

Code access to Connect Writing 2.0
College Writing Skills with Readings, 9th ed., by Langan (e-book)
Longman English Dictionary Online
Internet access to TIME magazine essays
Google Drive account
Flash drive, pens/pencils, and lots of notebook paper

Course Grading

How your grade is calculated

Paragraphs
Essays
Final exam essay
Online activities
Daily activities

150 points
300 points
150 points
250 points
150 points

Course Policies

Ask for help. Please let me know when you are confused or need some help. Be sure to use your UNG email account if you send me an email.
Participate. Arrive on time, stay until dismissal, take notes, and stay engaged to earn "Daily Activity" points.
Make-Up Work. Work for this class includes assignments done on your own time as well as assignments done during class. When you are absent on a due date, you need proof of excuse to turn in missed work.
Turning in work. Essays and other writing assignments will be composed in Google Drive. Online grammar assignments will be done in Connect Writing 2.0. Be sure to confirm that you have met the word count/length requirement for each writing assignment. You will become proficient in several online technologies for writing, so you will need a working computer with decent internet. The computers in the labs here on campus work great if you don't have one at home. Do not use email to turn in work.
Email. The official form of communication at UNG is email. This policy protects all of us in the exchange of information. If you need to contact me about anything, whether personal or class related, please use your UNG email account to send a message to matthew.horton@ung.edu. This is my official UNG email address. Check your email two or three times a day for updates. Check it every hour if you have emailed me a question.
Computers. Even if class has not begun, please log on as soon as you arrive and browse the website for this course. Review the calendar, look over some writing guides, reread assignment instructions, organize your course bookmarks, etc. Please take care of all personal communication (e.g., email, texting, Facebook, etc.) and leisure usage (e.g., ESPN, Facebook, games, etc.) outside the classroom. Turn off your cell phone and keep it out of reach. In the classroom, all that matters is your course work. Any sign that you are not taking full advantage of class time for class-related activities might prompt me to deduct "Daily Activity" points.
Printers. I would prefer, to avoid distractions, that you not print any documents in the classroom while we are doing activities or having a discussion.
Disruptive behavior. I emphasize the importance of sensitivity and respect in and out of class between you and me and between you and your classmates. Refrain from gestures, attitudes, tones, and words that are meant to be base, insulting, or provocative. Please do not express disagreement with my policies, decisions, or academic help in front of other students; I am happy to field complaints privately during my office hours. You should, of course, disagree openly with any of my ideas about the readings we do. I won't be angry at all; I will be quite pleased. If I disagree right back, don't get angry or feel embarrassed; just keep talking. Disagreement about ideas is a sure sign of their value. One other rule: if you come to class, don't leave early unless you have checked with me before class begins. You may have bottled water in the classroom, but food is too distracting.
Academic honesty. All work submitted to fulfill requirements of this class must meet UNG standards of academic honesty. Violations of these standards include receiving or giving assistance on any graded assignment without my permission (aka, cheating), fabricating evidence for use in an assignment (aka, lying), and using another person's words or thoughts in your assignment without giving that person credit (aka, plagiarism). Penalty for committing these acts could range from a zero on the assignment to an "F" in the course.
Withdrawal. Remember that you cannot withdraw from a class simply by not coming anymore; rather, you must withdraw yourself through Banner Web before the midpoint. Also, I reserve the right to request that you be withdrawn from the class if you miss more the 10% of the class meetings before or after midpoint. Please be familiar with the University Attendance Policies.
Disclaimer. This syllabus is subject to change to meet the needs of the course.

Supplemental Syllabus

Calendar

2012-08-05T10:10:00.000-04:00

Please note that some assignments are due on days that we do not actually meet in person. Assignments that are due on class days must be finished and turned in at the beginning of class, unless noted otherwise in the agenda description. There is no particular time for assignments on the other days, just sometime that day (or night).

Assignments

2012-08-05T10:05:00.000-04:00

Here is a checklist, in case you want to work ahead and finish the course early:

Paragraphs

Essays

Personalized Learning Plan

Online Activity Instructions

2012-08-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

English 0099 is a 4-credit-hour course, yet we only meet in person inside the classroom for three hours a week. The fourth hour each week is taken up by lab activities that you will do on your own. The hour of online work every week should not be considered homework--it will FEEL like homework because you are working individually, on your own schedule. But you have to force yourself to remember that this fourth hour every week is built into the 4 credit hours that you are earning in English 0099.

Now, if mastery points for a certain week end up taking you over an hour to complete, then you can consider the extra time "homework time." If you want to leave this online work to do until the end of week, you may, but please remember to pace yourself. And sometimes, working ahead can be beneficial. If you finish the Personalized Learning Plan by midpoint, for instance, you will be able to focus more on bigger assignments.

Online Activities will count for 25% of your grade. I will keep track of your work on Connect Writing 2.0, looking at your completion and your performance.

Daily Activity Instructions

2012-08-05T09:55:00.000-04:00

Workshop activities, writing assignments, and grammar exercises make up this part of your responsibility. You must be present in class, arrive on time, and NOT leave early to participate in various planned activities. You will receive points for bringing work done outside of class, being ready to participate, and staying on task the whole period.

To be safe, have

access to stored assignments that are due
access to stored work in progress for longer assignments
all course materials, everyday

Points earned for daily participation will accumulate all semester into 15% of your overall grade.

Using Google Drive

2012-08-04T13:20:00.000-04:00

Your essays, essay topic explorations, and other writing assignments this semester will be done on Google Drive. This online document creation and storage tool allows you to compose without any word processing software on your computer. The sharing feature allows you to collaborate with me and your classmates as you write your writing and receive feedback. You can also comment and make suggestions on pieces shared with you.

In order for this tool to work for us, we will all have to cooperate, learn some new skills, and follow some rules. It will be a steep learning curve for some of you, but I think you'll be pleased with the results!

First, you'll need a Google account. If you have a Gmail account, then you already have a Google account, so all you need to do to get started is to sign in to Google Drive! If you don't have a Google account, the easiest way to start one is to sign up for Gmail! This link will allow you to designate a username for a Gmail account--I recommend using something like "LastName.FirstName" for your username.

Once you have your Google account, let me know the Gmail address you'll be using and sign in to Google Drive, and we'll configure some things together during class. Here is the first assignment:

Create a folder called "Lastname.Firstname.0099.Writing.S14"
Share the folder with me and grant me "edit" privileges (I'll give you my sharing address during class)
Create a document in that folder called "Lastname.Firstname.My.Expectations.S14"
Now open this document and write a 200-word response answer the following two questions: What are you most looking forward to? What are you most afraid of?
Create another document in the same folder called "Lastname.Firstname.My.Goals.S14"
Share this document with everyone else in the class and grant them "comment" privileges
Now open this document and write a 200-word response answering the following two items: What can YOU do to make progress as a writer? Describe your resolve to "get ready" for English 1101.

Future writing assignments will also go in this folder with an appropriate filename (LastName.FirstName.AssignmentName.S14).

Paragraphs

2012-08-04T10:02:00.000-04:00

These paragraph assignments are designed to help you learn the basic unit of an essay. Once you achieve paragraph organization, you will be more comfortable with organizing an essay.

Instructions

Each paragraph must be 12 lines long using 12 pt. Times New Roman and 1" margins in your Google Drive document.
You will work on these paragraphs over the first few weeks to help you prepare to write your essays (check the calendar). You can work ahead if you are trying to finish the course early.
You will be writing different kinds of paragraphs, so the instructions for each one are slightly different.

Paragraph Assignment 1
Identify ONE situation in your life right now, outside of school, that is a source of stress or concern. How does this situation potentially pose a problem for your academic success this term? Explain with examples of how your goal of academic success could be hurt by this burden.

Paragraph Assignment 2
Think about the situation you discussed for the first paragraph assignment. Do you have any control over the stress caused by that burden? What steps can you take to ease the burden of that situation in a way that would make your academic success this term easier to attain? How would this strategy help you deal with the situation so that it's less distracting.

Paragraph Assignment 3
Think about the situation you discussed for the first and second paragraph assignments. Now I want you to contrast that stress with the stress caused by school. What is the main difference between the stress caused by your burden outside school and the burden that school places on you? Explain where you think this difference comes from.

Paragraph Assignment 4
Think about how you might extend your topic for "Paragraph Assignment 1" into an essay. Now, write the beginning paragraph for that essay. You'll need to think of a way to engage your reader in your topic, lay out the stages of thought, and provide a thesis.

Paragraph Assignment 5
Based on the same essay topic you further developed for "Paragraph Assignment 4," write an ending paragraph. You may not repeat any information from the beginning paragraph. Instead, describe how your thesis is worth thinking about, assuming it is true. Offer some new information that extends interest in your topic, and the finish with a thought-provoking idea.

Grading

When you are done with each paragraph in Google Drive, I will read it to make sure that it is a unified paragraph. If there is a problem with content or organization, I will let you revise it you have successfully written a unified paragraph.

Connect Writing 2.0

2012-08-04T09:26:00.000-04:00

To gain access to Connect Writing 2.0, you will need to purchase an access code online or from the bookstore. But you do have 21-day trial period you can use before you need to purchase. This trial period should allow you to gather the funds you'll need to buy the access code.

In Connect Writing 2.0, there is an e-book called College Writing Skills, by Langan. There is also an assignment called Personalized Learning Plan. This assignment is an ongoing set of exercises in various grammar rules and writing conventions. Based on your performance on the diagnostic, you will be required to improve your skills in various grammar topics. To earn full credit on this assignment you must achieve 100% completion in all of the modules. The PLP is designed to make sure you get the right answer but also be confident that you got the right answer. It adapts to your actual knowledge, but it also scores you based on consistency.

Also, I have set up the assignment to cover quite a few topics. So you will need to work on this assignment steadily throughout the semester. How much time will depend on your performance on the diagnostic, your performance in each module, and your ability to answer questions correctly on a consistent basis. I will expect to see steady progress from one week to the next.

Highlight a Difference Essay

2010-08-12T15:22:00.071-04:00

Before you write the actual essay, first you must do an Essay Topic Exploration and then compose an outline:

Take your topic for the third paragraph assignment and extend it into a full essay. To do this you will need to break your paragraph topic into two middle paragraphs and then write a beginning paragraph and an ending paragraph to surround them. The idea for this essay will be to explain the difference between your stressful situation outside of school and a stressful situation in school.

Overview

For this essay, you will support a thesis statement by showing how two situations are different in an interesting way.
Your reader wants a new perspective on the nature of stress--your contrast will help show that stress is not simple.
Base your response on your own personal experience.
Identify one main difference between the stress in the two situations. The middle paragraphs will give examples from each situation to make the difference between them clear.

Clarify a Process Essay

2010-08-12T15:22:00.070-04:00

Before you write the actual essay, first you must do an Essay Topic Exploration and then compose an outline:

Take your topic for the second paragraph assignment and extend it into a full essay. To do this you will need to break your paragraph topic into two middle paragraphs and then write a beginning paragraph and an ending paragraph to surround them. The idea for this essay will be to explain a task that you can do to lower the burden of your stressful situation outside of school.

Overview

For this essay, you will describe a process to prove how it can help you reach a goal.
Your reader wants to understand the value of the task, not merely a summary or description.
Base your response on your own personal experience.
Describe what YOU actually did one time or what YOU plan to do so that you can show how your process is a good strategy. In other words, write about yourself. Do not give commands or use "you" in your essay.

Interpret an Experience Essay

2010-08-12T15:22:00.068-04:00

Before you write the actual essay, first you must do an Essay Topic Exploration and then compose an outline:

Take your topic for the first paragraph assignment and extend it into a full essay. To do this you will need to break your paragraph topic into two middle paragraphs and then write a beginning paragraph and an ending paragraph to surround them. The idea for this essay will be to explain how a particular struggle outside of school poses a potential problem for your academic success.

Overview

For this essay, you will interpret an experience in order to prove a point about a source of stress in your life outside of school.
Your reader wants to understand HOW your experience had an effect on your academic experience.
Base your response on your own personal experience, not general ideas about stress that assume about everybody.

Essay Topic Exploration

2010-08-11T12:21:00.000-04:00

You'll be writing four essays this semester, and for each one, you will have to compose a 12-line topic exploration before you begin outlining and writing the paper. To view possible topics for each essay, click on the essay assignment below:

Once you choose a topic, create a document in your Google Drive writing folder and name it this way: "LastName.FirstName.WhichEssay.Topic.Semester"

Let your mind think openly about the topic. Why does this topic interest you, and what is something that happened to you that you could base your essay on?

Each topic exploration is part of the completion grade you earn on that essay. In other words, if you skip the topic exploration, you cannot get full credit on the essay you write for that topic.

Editing Guide

2010-08-07T21:05:00.008-04:00

Fixing the Text

Circle all instances of “you,” “your,” “yours,” “yourself,” etc. Delete them.
Circle all subjects; put a box around all verbs; check for agreement and tense errors.
Check that all of your pronouns agree in number with the nouns they represent.
And be sure the pronoun cannot possibly represent two different nouns.
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so: use commas with coordinating conjunctions (SV, and SV.)
- The oak tree in the front yard fell on the roof, so we will have to move.
- Gulliver set his alarm for 6:00 AM, yet he still managed to get stuck in traffic.
however, therefore, instead (vs.) although, because, whereas
- The oak tree in the front yard fell on the roof; therefore, we will have to move.
- Because the oak tree in the front yard fell on the roof, we will have to move.
- Gulliver set his alarm for 6:00 AM; nevertheless, he managed to get stuck in traffic.
- Although Gulliver set his alarm for 6:00 AM, he still managed to get stuck in traffic.
introductory clauses and phrases (comma before the subject) (intro, SV.)
- With no roof to keep the rain out, our house needs serious repair.
- Whereas GSC offers a personal environment, UGA is more socially challenging.

Errors to avoid

Any form of the lazy cliche “As I said before” or “In summary” or “In conclusion”
“This” and “that” used by itself as a pronoun (especially as a subject)
- This shows that I needed to sleep more often.
- That was the worst day of my high school career.
- Mr. Clark proved this to me in sixth grade.
- I believed that for a long time.
“it” used as a subject
- Confusing: It is scary to walk in the dark.
- Clear: Walking in the dark frightens me.
“By doing this . . . it will improve”
- Confusing: By Mr. Horton reviewing my outline, it will help me improve my paper.
- Clear: By reviewing my outline, Mr. Horton will help me improve my paper.
dangling modifiers
- Confusing: As a GSC college student, textbooks are expensive.
- Clear: As a GSC college student, I spend a lot of money on textbooks.

MLA Formatting

Use 1” margins
Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font
Double-space the text
Put last name and page number in upper right header.
Use four-line heading on first page
Leave out extra spaces between paragraphs or around title

Revision Guide

2010-08-07T21:05:00.007-04:00

Double-Check the Content

(Make sure you have written sentences that correspond to each section of your outline)

Beginning
- Reach out to your audience (engaging detail)
- Prepare your audience (relevant background)
- Preview your argument (interrelated stages)
- Thesis statement (claim and reason)
Middle (look at each paragraph)
- Topic sentence (main idea of paragraph)
- Supporting details (concrete evidence)
- Closing statement (demonstrate proof)
Ending
- Explain importance (why thesis matters)
- New information (extend the discussion)
- Final comments (satisfy the reader)

Double-Check the Organization

Put a * by your thesis, each topic sentence in the middle, and the first sentence of the end.
The logical progression of these sentences should be an orderly thought process.
Make sure your thesis clearly and directly focuses your topic and states your position.
Make sure your stages are not three unrelated ideas but sequential steps in ONE discussion.
Make sure the last sentence of each middle paragraph DOES NOT bring up the topic of the next paragraph.
From beginning to end, your essay should be persuasive, not a summary of events or facts.
Make sure that each of your paragraphs is the same length.

Write a two-part title to catch attention and be informative

Sitting in the Stands: Disappointment on Graduation Day
Telling the Boss Off: How I Learned to Stand Up to a Tyrant
Lower Test Scores: How No Child Left Behind Leaves Every Child Behind
Turning Our Backs on Spirit: A Defense of Senior Class Disrespect
Let them Fight to the End: An Alternative to "Humane" Capital Punishment
Keep Them Off the Roads: How to Improve DUI Law Enforcement

Outline and Write

2010-08-07T21:05:00.006-04:00

The Outlining Stage

Make a copy of this outlining template and use it to fill in all the parts of your essay before you begin writing your rough draft. Place this document in your 0099 Writing folder in Google Drive and name it this way: ""LastName.FirstName.WhichEssay.Outline.Semester""

A few points to remember:

When you bring an outline to class for a revision workshop, it must be typed in your Google Drive document.
This template is a shortened form of the structure for your paper. But You might have THREE stages; if you so choose, you will need THREE middle paragraphs.
When you fill in this outline template, abbreviate the CONTENT of what you actually plan to write in your paragraphs; each part of this outline should eventually be in your paper, in the same order. Whatever ideas you include on the outline should eventually be in the sentences of your essay.

The Writing Stage

For some, writing the paper is the easiest stage of all, but for others it is the most intimidating.

Here are some pointers to help you compose your paper with less stress:

Write in your natural voice instead of forcing yourself into "essay" mode and trying to sound smart. If your natural voice leads to grammatical errors, you can deal with them during the editing stage.
Use your outline as a guide for writing your paragraphs. Free yourself from holding all of your ideas in your head at once by referring to the ideas you have already laid out in your outline. If you feel more comfortable writing your draft before you compose your outline, you should write your draft first. But then come back and write an outline afterward and make adjustments to your draft if you discover gaps or find that your ideas need to be in a different order.
Try not to overwhelm yourself with grammatical concerns at this stage. Over-monitoring yourself can lead to a robotic style of writing, which will be more harmful to your paper in the long run than grammar errors, which you can fix later on anyway.
Focus on writing complete paragraphs and making your paragraphs connect to each other logically.

Check My Grades

2010-08-06T13:45:00.002-04:00

Go to UNG eLearning to view your grades:

Log on with username and password
Choose my course from the "Course List"
Click on "My Grades"

How to Write an Email to a Teacher

2010-08-06T12:55:00.002-04:00

Be mindful of your teacher's inbox

Use your GSC email account
Start with a new message instead of replying to some old email message
Put a clear and proper title in the subject line

Structure the content your email message in a professional way

Use a conventional salutation
Immediately say what class you are in, indicating the day and time it meets
Make your message as clear and concise as possible
- Statement of your problem or interest
- Question that is relevant to that problem or interest
- Justification of question (why do you need an answer)
- Request for response (if you need one)
Express your gratitude in a genuine way
Sign your full name after saying “Sincerely” or “Regards” etc.

Before you send the email, save it as a draft so you can check over it

Only ask questions that are not otherwise answered in the course materials
Polished grammar is a must; use complete sentences and complete words
Your entire message should give an impression of consideration and care
Email is NOT an informal means of communicating with a teacher

Reasons to email (know your rhetorical situation)

Alert your teacher about a future absence
Request an appointment during office hours
Ask a question about the some of the course material that is confusing you
Share something of interest that is relevant to a recent lecture
Express thanks for an appointment you had with your teacher
Apologize for something rude you might have done

Important Considerations

Use email with your teacher in a way that follows the course policies.
When you email or visit a teacher, your demeanor says more than you think.
Credibility is an image that you project to another person.
Deference is the key to a good image in the eyes of one who wields grades.

MLA Conventions for Essays

2010-08-06T12:08:00.001-04:00

Yes, they are arbitrary, but so are all rules, right? In the world of college writing, MLA is not the only standard you'll have to learn, but it is definitely quite common.

Use 1" margins
Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font
Double-space the text
Put last name and page number in upper right header
Use four-line heading on first page
Leave out extra spaces between paragraphs or around title
Are all sources cited, either in the sentence itself or in parentheses?
Double-check the punctuation of your citations in the text.
On Works Cited page, center the title Works Cited at the top (no italics).
Put works cited entries in alphabetical order and double-spaced.

Click here to see what the first page of an MLA paper looks like.
Go here to read more about MLA conventions.

The Benefits of Note-Taking

2010-08-06T11:36:00.001-04:00

Forces you to be alert to all activity in the classroom.
Reduces the stress associated with being "out of the loop."
Extra credit for "Daily Activity" points.

Final Exam Essay

2010-08-06T11:32:00.003-04:00

The final exam is an in-class essay on one of the topics created by the English Department. You will write this essay on three separate days in the classroom. Like all of your other essays, this final essay will be graded by me, but it will count 15% of your final grade, slightly higher than the other essays. During the semester, two of your essays will be timed and written during class time. In addition to being big grades by themselves, you should treat these essays as practice for the final exam essay.